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The Order (Silent Hill)
The Order is the local, religious organization in the town of Silent Hill that has appeared as the main antagonistic faction through most of the Silent Hill games. Although it has three different sects, they all have the goal of bringing God into the world. After the events of the first game, it underwent a period of inactivity until it was revived with financial aid of a young priest of the Order named Father Vincent. The Order is prevalent in all of the games, and are deeply rooted in Silent Hill's history and culture and this religious organization was originally founded in the American Civil War. They are responsible for Alessa Gillespie's immolation and rise to power, as well as the attempts to contain it. Pyramid Head takes the form of an iconic figure of judgment and punishment of the Order's mythos, Valtiel. The creature itself even makes an appearance to follow Heather Mason and the God sleeping in her womb. They also ran the Wish House Orphanage, and were responsible for Walter Sullivan's descent into madness. The cult's official seal is known as the Halo of the Sun, and is often present in the presence of cult members, particularly while conducting rituals. The Order takes inspiration and draws elements from other religions, such as the origins of Christianity, Japanese folklore, Aztec rituals, and Native American beliefs. Beliefs The Order worships the entities of the Otherworld of Silent Hill, which they believe house their faith's incarnation of God, which is often depicted as a woman; it has been stated that this belief lies the foundation for the whole cult. Their mythos has a wide variety of angels and saints, including: *Valtiel *Metatron *Lobsel Vith *Xuchilbara The Order's main goal, as many of its members state, is to usher in the apocalypse and deliver the faithful to paradise. This paradise means many different things to different members, but the goals remain the same, and this is brought about in ways that vary from sect to sect. Some try to actively aid it while others simply prepare for the inevitable. As stated on several occasions, the Order does not believe in terms of "good" or "evil", only "chaos" and "order". Their ways are cruel and brutal, to ensure order remains in place. To ensure loyalty and discipline, many children under the Order's care are cruelly treated and disciplined harshly in some sects. Human life is inconsequential to them, as they are more than willing to sacrifice and kill to appease God. Their occult and seemingly magical abilities are further unexplained, as many of their rituals produce arcane effects that defy all logic. Their tie to the forces of the Otherworld is also quite strong, as some members of the Order can even go so far as to manipulate it to a degree. System of beliefs 1. Commitment All members of the Order must have fully committed themselves to this purpose in their beliefs, their activities and their lives. 2. Membership Membership within the Order is extended to all that seek the Old Ways. Levels of Membership: :*'Mother Circle' The Mother is considered the founding group of the Order. The name of the founding group is The Mother. :*'Daughter Circle' Any Second Generation group hived off of The Mother. :*'Servant Circle' Any Third Generation group stemming from The Mother. 3. The High Council The High Council is set in place as a tool for all within the Order to make use of. The purpose of the High Council shall be to aid in the process of group formation as needed, act as governing body in matters pertaining to the Order as a whole, and to be a judge/jury if asked to settle disputes. 4. Grievances and Discipline Procedures All decisions made by the High Council are binding. Presenting your case before the Council implies your acceptance of their decision. Those seeking mediation must contact the Scribe. *The High Council shall be called in to preside over disputes within a group to hear complaints and accusation of inappropriate acts, heresy, abuse of power by leaders any other complaints that are deemed worthy to preserve the public image or internal integrity of the Order. *The nature of the disciplinary action shall be decided at the sole discretion of The High Council. These actions shall contain, but not be limited to, assignment of manual labor, persecution of an individual member, execution or torture, and the banishment of a group. *If an individual member wishes to leave the Order, they are required to bring their request to the High Council. Sects The Order is divided into several sects. Sect of the Holy Woman This sect, the Holy Woman sect is centered around a priestess named Dahlia Gillespie. This sect believed that God would return to Earth one day and await her coming faithfully. However, Dahlia Gillespie had attempted to hasten God's rebirth by using an immolation ritual which meant her daughter, Alessa, would be used as a sacrifice. Members of this sect include Dahlia Gillespie, Claudia Wolf, Vincent and Leonard Wolf. They believe that once God has come, She will cause the apocalypse and usher the faithful to paradise. Not all their members are active in this, however, such as Vincent. Claudia believes that a God born from pain and hatred would thereby be more sympathetic. Sect of the Holy Mother Members of the sect of the Holy Mother (not to be confused with Alessa Gillespie, known as the Mother of God) used their self-run Wish House to raise a conjurer. They respected the Mother Stone as something sacred, and called the God "Holy Mother". This sect believed that the Holy Mother would be descended by a conjurer performing a ritual to descend the God into a sacred object. Members of this sect include Toby Archbolt. They are slightly more pacifistic than the Sect of the Holy Woman, though their cruelty is still directly shown by their treatment of the orphans in their care, including a younger Walter Sullivan. They also held a ritual for the resurrection of the dead, which James Sunderland may find in Silent Hill 2. Sect of Valtiel This sect is centered around the priest Jimmy Stone. This sect believed Valtiel to be the closest to God, and worshiped him as a divine executioner. Members of the Valtiel sect would don red pointed hoods and act like executioners in honor of Valtiel. Members of this sect include Jimmy Stone and George Rosten. Sect of Shepherd's Glen An unnamed sect of the Order residing in Shepherd's Glen, they are a splinter group, having broken away from the core of the Order to live more peaceful, stable lives. Though separate from the Order, many of the core beliefs are still upheld, including faith in their God and a desire for discipline. The Founding Families that made up this sect entered into a pact with their God; if one child from each of the four families was sacrificed every 50 years, Shepherd's Glen would be spared from the effects of the Otherworld. The families are: The Shepherds, the Holloways, the Bartletts, and the Fitches. With Adam Shepherd's failure to fulfill his portion of the Pact, the agreement was broken, and Shepherd's Glen was left to the ravages of the Otherworld. Members include Curtis Ackers, Adam Shepherd, Sam Bartlett, Martin Fitch and Margaret Holloway. Demise of The Order The original, true form of the Order has ceased to exist due to several events. The deaths of Claudia and Vincent in Silent Hill 3 and the exposure of the Order by private investigator Douglas Cartland shortly thereafter ended the Holy Woman sect in 1997. The Holy Woman and Valtiel sects were effectively destroyed by Walter Sullivan as part of his three-fold killing spree. ''Silent Hill'' films The Silent Hill film features a similar, yet different, fanatical religious cult as well, however, the director has stated they are two separate cults. He implies that Jennifer Carroll was burned alive by the movie's cult, tying the Order to the movie cult and says they have "opposite" beliefs. The sequel to the first film, Silent Hill: Revelation, will feature the Order. As noted, the Order is a rival cult of the Puritanical sect in the first film. Like the Silent Hill games, they are seen as cloaked figures dressed in dark clothing. In the comics In contrast to the Order's presentation in the game series, the Order of the Silent Hill comics universe is not a central element to the plot. Presented as a clandestine group of religious human individuals, the Order's goal is to facilitate the birth of the entity Samael. In addition to being servants of Samael, the Order is also said to be able to control the monsters of Silent Hill. Whately appears to serve as the intermediary between the otherworldly Samael and members of the Order. Though their connection is unclear, Christabella LaRoache appears to have entered into some kind of agreement with the Order, but is said to be guilty of betrayals against the group by trying to obtain the powers of Samael for herself. Category:Cults Order Order Order Category:Fanatics Category:Kidnapper Category:Mass Murderer Category:Torturer Category:Recurring villain Category:Religious Villains Category:The Order Members